Fanon "ruining" canon

Sat Jan 20 03:59:35 UTC 2001

No: HPFGUIDX 9828

Hi --

Trina wrote:

> I was a non-fanfic reader myself up until last Saturday.  Now I am
> "siriusly" involved with Ebony's TIP and Penny & Carole's ASA. It
> starts out with "oh, I'll just check it out to see what all the fuss
> is about" and then, before you know it, You are sucked in and can't
> escape!  Is there a 12-step program for this? <g>

Glad you're enjoying ASA Trina!  :--)  No ... there is no 12-step program
as yet.  Will the Flying Ford Anglia clinic soon be offering such a
program or is the founder of said clinic too caught up in fanfic himself?

> I don't think the fanfic is sullying my canon (spelled it right this
> time! <vbg>) vision of the characters or possible events.  I consider
> it more like a parallel universe, telling a "what might have been" in
> the Wizarding world.

Ebony added:

> When you read a fanfic that actually plays out something that you'd
> always wondered about, and does it well, it's like a shock of
> lightening.  <big snip>
>
> The best fanfics are not *all* about giggling over romantic
> pairings.  (That's just the icing on the cake.  ;-))  The best
> fanfics reconcile unresolved canonical issues.  In fanfic, a dead
> character like Lily can rise from the grave and a live character can
> die or mysteriously disappear.  The reader can get inside the heads
> of little-known Weasleys and Slytherin Seekers, walk around, and stay
> a bit if he or she likes.
>
Well said!  Now I need to update the Fanfic FAQ to reflect these great
additional thoughts.  That is in fact what fanfic is to me -- a possible
"what if" scenario.  I admittedly have a harder time reading fanfics set
during the canon years, although Cassie's stories have given me a great
reason to read more of this particular type of fanfic as well.

> If your views are solidly formed by canon, then no fanfic can
> change them.
>
Yep.  As examples: I can read & enjoy Kathy's "Hermione POV in GoF"
series that she's doing right now even though I would write a
*completely* different Hermione POV of those scenes.  <g>  Similarly,
Kathy can read & enjoy (?) PoU and TIP and maintain her canon views that
H/H is "just wrong" and R/H is "destiny."  <vbg>

Great thoughts on Fanfic (and btw, I say "go for it" Trina!  Wait!  Are
you the "right" ship?!  <g>)

Penny

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